Objective(s): Ramadan is the Holy month of the Muslims, where they are required to abstain from food and drinks
from dawn till the beginning of night. This study was conducted in Ramadan to investigate the effect of fasting on
hematological incidences, lipid profile, renal and liver function tests among healthy adult males.
Methodology: The present study was carried out in Ramadan – 1431 of Higira (August-September 2010). The study
sample was 56 healthy adult males. Five samples of blood were taken at five intervals (Before, at day 1, 15, 28 and
after Ramadan). Estimation was done for hematological markers, (hemoglobin, white blood cells count, platelet
count); renal function tests (blood urea, serum uric acid, serum albumin, total serum protein); biochemical
parameters, (blood glucose, total serum cholesterol, serum triacylglyceride, high and low density lipoproteins) and
liver function tests (AST, ALT, Alkaline phosphatase, total serum bilirubin).
Results: The mean age of the subjects was 48.4 years (SD 7.15) and mean weight was 79.92 kg (SD 7.94). No
significant changes were observed in weight, hemoglobin, white blood cell count and platelets count, blood urea and
serum albumin values. Whereas, serum uric acid and total serum protein levels were statistically lower during and
aŌer Ramadan (P< 0.05, 0.01).
Blood levels of glucose showed no significant decrease and serum cholesterol and serum triacylglyceride results were
non-significant at first 2 weeks of Ramadan.
The same significant changes (p< 0.05, 0.01) were observed in the lipoprotein at day 15 and 28 of Ramadan. Findings
of liver functions levels showed significant changes. While, total serum bilirubin still with no significant changes during
Ramadan.
Recommendations: The present study recommends performing more studies with both larger groups and in various
categories of healthy and unhealthy subjects.
Strengthening with carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP) has become one of the most significant methods of enhancing the flexural strength of reinforced concrete members. Extensive research has shown that externally-bonded CFRP sheets tend to debond from the soffit of the concrete members at much lower strains, compared with CFRP rupture strain. Different types of anchorage system have been developed to prevent or delay the debonding type failure, which leads to a higher utilisation of the CFRP sheets before failure occurs. This paper summarises some of the most efficient types of anchorage systems that have shown significant enhancement in terms of increasing the flexural bending c
For the most reliable and reproducible results for calibration or general testing purposes of two immiscible liquids, such as water in engine oil, good emulsification is vital. This study explores the impact of emulsion quality on the Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy calibration standards for measuring water contamination in used or in-service engine oil, in an attempt to strengthen the specific guidelines of ASTM International standards for sample preparation. By using different emulsification techniques and readily available laboratory equipment, this work is an attempt to establish the ideal sample preparation technique for reliability, repeatability, and reproducibility for FT-IR analysis while still considering t
... Show MoreIn this study, the effect of design parameters such as pipe diameter, pipe wall thickness, pipe material and the effect of fluid velocity on the natural frequency of fluid-structure interaction in straight pipe conveying fully developed turbulent flow were investigate numerically,analytically and experimentally. Also the effect of support conditions, simply-simply and clamped-clamped was investigated. Experimentally, pipe vibrations were characterized by accelerometer mounted on the pipe wall. The natural frequencies of vibration were analyzed by using Fast Fourier Transformer (FFT). Five test sections of two different pipe diameters of 76.2
mm and 50.8 mm with two pipe thicknesses of 3.7 mm and 2.4 mm and two pipe materials,stainles
The present paper deals with studying the effect of electrical discharge machining (EDM) and shot blast peening parameters on work piece fatigue lives using copper and graphite electrodes. Response surface methodology (RSM) and the design of experiment (DOE) were used to plan and design the experimental work matrices for two EDM groups of experiments using kerosene dielectric alone, while the second was treated by the shot blast peening processes after EDM machining. To verify the experimental results, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to predict the EDM models for high carbon high chromium AISI D2 die steel. The work piece fatigue lives in terms of safety factors after EDM models were developed by FEM using ANSY
... Show MoreThe present research aims to study the effect of friction stir welding (FSW) parameters on temperature distribution and tensile strength of aluminum 6061-T6. Rotational and traverse speeds used were (500,1000,1400 rpm) and (14,40,112 mm/min) respectively. Results of mechanical tests showed that using 500rpm and 14mm/min speed give the best strength. A three- dimensional fully coupled thermal-stress finite element model via ANSYS software has been developed. The Rate dependent Johnson-Cook relation was utilized for elasto-plastic work deformations. Heat-transfer is formulated using a moving heat source, and later used the transient temperature outputs from the thermal analysis to determine equivalent stresses in the welde
... Show MoreNumerous blood biomarkers are altered in COVID-19 patients; however, no early biochemical markers are currently being used in clinical practice to predict COVID-19 severity. COVID-19, the most recent pandemic, is caused by the SRS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The study was aimed to identify patient groups with a high and low risk of developing COVID-19 using a cluster analysis of several biomarkers. 137 women with confirmed SARS CoV-2 RNA testing were collected and analyzed for biochemical profiles. Two-dimensional automated hierarchy clustering of all biomarkers was applied, and patients were sorted into classes. Biochemistry marker variations (Ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase LDH, D-dimer, and C- reactive protein CRP) have split COVID-19 patien
... Show MoreGrowth is a multifactorial process influenced by genetic, nutritional, hormonal, psychosocial and other factors including the general health of a child. Epilepsy defined as a chronic condition characterized by recurrent clinical events or epileptic seizures, which occur in the absence of a metabolic or toxic disease the drugs that use in the treatment of this condition can affect patients growth due to their mechanisms of action. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of some antiepileptic drugs on growth (height and weight) in children with epilepsy. This work involved 51 newly diagnosed children with a different form of epilepsy (Generalized, absent and partial). Patients divided into three groups according to the treatment (group one
... Show MoreThe influence of Toxoplasma gondii on some biochemical parameters has lately gained an increasing attention. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of some biochemical parameters in Toxoplasma positive and negative subjects. An analytical case–control study was achieved in Baghdad for the period from October 2018 until March 2019. Forty nine females participated in this study, with an age range of 18-55 years. The participants were separated into two groups, namely Toxoplasma positive subjects (n=21) and Toxoplasma negative subjects (n=28), based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Blood and serum samples were collected from all subjects to evaluate the serum levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lip
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